Devices for removing fluorescent tubes located in remotely positioned lighting fixtures are known generally in the art, for example, from Unger et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,835 issued Dec. 20, 1988. Such devices, however, are limited in their use to the removal and installation of fluorescent tubes having dual pins at their respective ends, and, which are required to be rotated through 90.degree. in order to accomplish their removal or installation.
There commonly exists another type of fluorescent tube having only a single pin at its respective ends. The removal or installation of this type of fluorescent tube, instead of requiring rotation of the tube about its longitudinal axis requires displacement of the tube in the direction of its longitudinal axis, in order that the pin at one end of the tube can further compress the spring of its electrical contact, thus permitting axial movement of the tube and the withdrawal of the pin at the opposite end of the tube away from its electrical contact, and, out of its associated electrical socket.
As will be apparent, while the device of U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,835 has for its object the removal or installation of fluorescent tubes in remotely located fixtures, that device finds no application in the removal or installation of fluorescent tubes of the single-pin type. Any attempt to remove a single-pin fluorescent tube by use of the known device will of necessity require that the user apply lateral pressure to the pole supporting the device. This can cause slippage of the device axially of the fluorescent tube, with the probability that the device will slip off the fluorescent tube, which at that time may have been detached from one of its supporting holders. If this has happened, then, there is a danger of the fluorescent tube crashing onto the user's head, or, onto the floor area in the immediate vicinity of the user of the device. Clearly, such a problem cannot be countenanced as it constitutes a serious hazard to the safety of the user.